In light of recent state executions of innocent men, this book came at exactly the right time. This was well researched, deftly paced and organized, and called into question every aspect of the prison industrial complex: police, prosecutors, judges, trials, journalists, and even eye witnesses. Slepian convincingly demonstrated why wrongful convictions happen and why they are so difficult to overturn even in cases where the evidence of innocence is mind boggingly obvious. I also appreciated that he made his own position (and contribution to each case) very clear, putting journalists firmly in this conversation as well. Also the audiobook experience was wonderful, having real audio from the people he interviewed was very impactful and I felt the emotion in his reading.

Would definitely recommend reading/listening to this as a single piece of the puzzle that is the giant problem of incarceration in the U.S. And as a side note, I just so happened to finish this on the day JJ Velazquez was exonerated which is just another moment of joy to conclude this story!